Concordia rose even as the ranking evaluated nearly 400 more universities in 2019-20 than the previous year. QS looked at 1,620 institutions, up from 1,233 in 2018-19, with 1,001 making the final rankings.

Concordia now sits among the top 44 per cent of QS-ranked universities worldwide. Just seven years ago it was ranked in the top 56 per cent in the QS survey. Since that time, Concordia also moved up 19 places.

While Concordia placed in 17th spot for the second straight year among the 26 Canadian universities to make the QS rankings list, it was one of only seven institutions in the country to improve its position from the past year.

The university enhanced its scores for three of QS’s six indicators: academic reputation, international faculty and international students. Concordia also moved up its global rank in three indicators: citations per faculty, international faculty and international students.

Concordia’s top indicator — ranked at number 111 — is for international student ratio, which reflects the university’s global appeal.

“Clearly we’re known as a place that not only welcomes and embraces those from elsewhere but allows them to become an integral part of our community and to thrive as they learn, teach and conduct research.”

However, competition is stiffer. The number of “young” schools — those under 50 years old — in the 2019 rankings shot up to 351 from 250 last year.

The Young University Rankings, like the overall THE World University Rankings, evaluate five categories, and in 2019 Concordia advanced in four: research, citations, industry income and international outlook.

“This is further confirmation of Concordia’s advantages in its international reputation, but also reflects our continuing successful efforts to double our research,” Whitelaw adds.